It’s still more than three years away until Pitt and Penn State play for the first time since Pitt shut out Penn State 12-0 in 2000 — wow. It will be a 16-year gap. Amazing. Hard to believe it will be that long. But I digress.

Last year, the two universities signed a home-and-home agreement for the 2016 and 2017 seasons. Today, Pitt and Penn State announced a two-year extension of the original pact for 2018 and 2019.

Pitt will host the initial game at Heinz Field on September 10, 2016. The Panthers will play at Penn State on September 16, 2017. The new agreement will have the series returning to Pittsburgh on September 8, 2018, with a return trip to State College on September 14, 2019.

It’s welcome news for a rivalry game that should have never ended.

The hope obviously is that long-term it re-establishes the annual game without having to be as much of an issue. Given the constant shifting of conference size and the potential of 9-game schedules in-conference to fill inventory as teams pursue TV dollars and their own cable channels. There are not guarantees. That it is why it is important to extend the series as much as possible now.

The Pitt-Penn State game now going through 2019 guarantees that WVU will not be on the football schedule until at least the next decade. Pitt is still slated to play ND through 2016, there simply won’t be a spot for the Brawl.

Still. Sixteen years between the last game and the next one. The longest gap in the series since it began.

some great news this is the rivalry I grew up on and I think it will only help both programs in the future, I will definetly be there in 2016 and 2018 and am making plans to make a trip to happy valley for the 2 road games. HAIL TO PITT

Good news. Kudos to Joyner at Penn State for staying true to his word and getting it done. It’s a shame the annual game was ended in 1992. The Pitt-Penn State series was one of the great events in college football. Good to see the game renewed. For many years it was the last regular season game for both teams. Hopefully the series can again regain the stature it once had.

This is good news for us + forty year olds. It is neverthelesss true, however, that in recent years, WVU has been more heated insofar as rivalries are concerned.
Thus better news would have Pitt replaying Mountaineres in lieu of PSU.
I always wished joepa dead to renew the series. It’s just not the case anymore, for this CAS ’93 anymore.

The net effect for WVU is that unless it plays MD or VTECH, it is going to be isolated even further.
That can’t be good for them and if the comments attributed to Alvarez are true and a school was turned away from joining the Big group that can’t count past 10, then it was likely WVU.
Pay attention closely. Something else is happening out there.
It could be nothing more than WVU being isolated as a result of their move to the Big 12 and Luck’s unmitigated arrogance, or it could mean a more fundamental shift in conference shifting or not a damn thing.
But is sure as hell means that Pitt gets back its most natural rival and national exposure and WVU gets isolated even further.

Enjoyed it when we played both regularly but Penn State was personal. Beating Penn State felt good all year. No short term high on this one! I’m still feeling the 12-0 win. That shutout had to be stuck so far up their craw they could taste it. Not one of JoePa’s finest moments.

The state’s major FB schools renew the rivalry…..it is about
time! In addition to the excitement of the series the game is
an economic boost to the region. Also this is a game
taxpayers want to see. Here’s hoping there is never a point in time when “one person” prevents the continuation of this series. This game needs to happen every year!

@JoeP
Thanks for posting the article. It seemed like there was more to the Big Ten adding Maryland and Rutgers for the sole purpose of gaining more tv sets and extending its footprint. It makes more sense to me that this was also done to keep Penn State happy.

Over the past few years, the Big Ten has taken a beating from the media for its lack of on the field competitiveness with the SEC. Its reputation as a top football conference has taken a hit. It is one of the reasons why I was so surprised when they added two more pedestrian football programs.

I’m still hoping that there is an outside chance that the ACC can somehow land Penn State if ND brings its football program on board. I know this is probably wishful thinking, but I think Swofford has something up his sleeve.

We should never have revived this series. We ended it once, should have stayed that way. And I’m over 40. I hate the hoopies, but there’s no reason that series shouldn’t have continued, unlike the Ped St actions. Having said that, am I the crazy or is this being portrayed as Pederson practically begged Joyner to revive the series?

The arguements Delany used against Pitt as a Big Ten canidate was that they already had PA covered (via cable)and wanted to expand the TV market and their footprint for the Big Ten Network. The also made comments that Pitt no longer had a stadium on campus, which to me is rather lame excuse.

A factor in this for helping PSU is that it is probably seen as helping PSU with recruiting. I think PSU probably has had a somewhat harder sell to eastern recruits (i.e, Eastern PA, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, etc.) than formerly because of the travel distance for parents to BIG away games. Having Maryland and Rutgers on their schedule probably will help PSU in that regard (once their sanctions are over). And, it may hurt Pitt’s recruiting in the process–unfortunately. But if we play them regularly some of that advantage will decrease.

Marcus, Don’t be a Scrooge. Almost all of us who remember the series want it renewed. It was one of the biggest, most viewed, and anticipated games of the college football season. It was usally reserved for Thanksgiving weekend. Joe PA did the fans of both schools a disservice when he discontinued the series. The Backyard Brawl gained in prominance after the discontinuation Pitt-Penn State game. The real passion, from the Pitt side, was for the Penn State game.

Floyd, As much as I would love to see it happen, I don’t think there is much chance of Penn State leaving the Big Ten for the ACC. Now that the Big Ten is adding Rutgers and Maryland ,they are adding two nearby eastern schools that Penn State can beat on regular basis and are close to home for travel. Also playing in New Jersey and the DC area will help them with their recruiting. Before joining the Big Ten Penn State used to pull a lot good recruits for those areas.
Right now there are no teams other than Penn State and Notre Dame that I would rather see as full members of the ACC.

I think ACC and ND not done yet in negotiations. ACC has two slots to get to 16. If B10 is looking to get to 16 then ND must decide. B10 probably wanted SY and mad ACC beat them to it. So they went to MD and RU to try to keep PSU. Maybe PSU rumors not over yet. ACC TV rights with ND and PSU would be HUGE.

Sorry Justinian, but I see no reason we should do to the WVU series what Ped St and their pedophile protecting hypocritical coach did to the Pitt-Ped series. I attended many of those games, still consider the Carson Long fiasco my most disappointing game ever. But I want no part of that scum or their culture.

as a former student who attended pitt during the height of the wvu rivalry, including 13-9, i couldn’t be happier about the renewal of the pitt-psu series. as much as we all hate the hoopies, i’ve seen the wild whites of west virginia, they can just keep to themselves down there. given the choice, i’ll take a series with psu or wvu every time. man, 2016 is a long way away though.

Sorry, WVU was the default rival after PSU series ended. There is no comparison. Sure I know a few WVU fans/grads, but I have a plethora of neighbors, coworkers, friends, and family that are PSU fans and/or alum. Like Auburn/Alabama, OSU/Michigan, USC/UCLA, etc. it is precisely that regional mix of fans bases that makes a rivalry. I wish they were playing tomorrow, can’t wait.

The Backyard Brawl was a big game, however, it was not the closing game of the season…Thanksgiving in Pennsylvania was turkey and smash mouth football between “Happy Valley” and the boys from the big city.

Let the Hoopies burn their stupid couches…I opt for crushing the clowns WHO ARE PENN STATE!!!

Nothing but a fantasy, but if PSU and ND joined the ACC, money would not be an issue. TV rights potential would be off the charts.

For PSU, they get to travel and recruit south, and get eastern rivalries back. Sports are cyclical Maimi and FSU will be in the top 10 again at some point. PSU would have a better opportunity for BCS games coming through the ACC.

Rutgers and Maryland add little to PSU. They already get the best recruits out of those areas.
It is possible that they lose some of the recruits now that they will go head to head.

PSU has a great new coach, but I still doubt that they can compete with Michigan and Ohio year to year and Wisconsin and Iowa have been giving them trouble.

The ACC makes sense for PSU. Maryland made a major mistake because of money. They won’t be able to compete and recruiting is going to get a whole lot harder.

Anyway, while it will be fun to play PSU, the rivalry won’t be the same until they are in the same conference, and unless they are competing for championships.

Reply to Iron Duke’s “…WVU was the default rival after PSU series ended. There is no comparison. Sure I know a few WVU fans/grads, but I have a plethora of neighbors, coworkers, friends, and family that are PSU fans and/or alum.”

Amen! My words exactly!

I’m thrilled beyond words that the series will resume, I wish it was Sept 2016 already. And if we never play those couch burning imbeciles from Morgantown again, I’m okay with that (if that means we get to play the Nits instead). Altho, 13-9 was a sweet game.

marcus of shaumburg, you’re missing one point: we’re not embracing PSU’s culture, if we win we’ll be (figuratively speaking) throwing dog turds on the grave of their dead 80+ icon by beating them at the thing they worship most! Can’t you see how it’s different? ESPECIALLY when we beat them up in State College.

And the best part: with any luck, 2016-2017 will be just when the full weight of their scholarship reductions will have their on-field product at its weakest. I for one wouldn’t mind returning 48-14 on them…

No Imma, the key point is we’re acting like those turds. I’m well aware Ped St was the #1 rivalry when I grew up – couldn’t agree more. But we’re doing to WVU (who I have no love for) exactly what the pedders did, it was classless when they did it, and it’s classless now. The difference being we don’t have some self-serving hypocrit to blame this on.

This is an obvious comparison to the rivalry between Pitt and WVU. I can understand how a lot of the older folks could see that as ‘these young’ns don’t know nuff’n bout Pitt-PSU’, which in terms of football is pretty true.

However, you have to realize that everyone born in PA knows someone who went to PSU, and everyone knows that ‘PSU Fanatic’ and has to grimace every time their head is held high reminiscing about how amazing Cowland University is. The venom and ammunition is still there, and it hasn’t had a chance to come to the surface as it did in some time. I am fully expecting both football programs, especially Pitt’s, moving forwards and upwards with the continued renewal of this rivalry.

I’m braced to dodge incoming rounds of over-ripe tomatoes over what I’m about to say: major props to Steve Pederson in getting this done, and without having to agree to PSU’s infuriating 2-for-1 ultimatum.

Two years ago, would anybody have guessed that Pitt-PSU is resuming? And that no Paternos, not even Jay, would be roaming the sidelines?

I met SP once, in Denver at an alumni function when the hoops team was here for March Madness. He & I spoke for a half-hour, almost all of it about to my hopes & desire to see this series resume, and his hard & ongoing efforts (fruitless at that time). How important it was to fans, how hard he was working but running into brick walls from Nits Nation. etc etc.

Yes, a LOT had to go wrong for the Nits to add a measure of humility (humiliation?) or a sense fairness or whatever. I’m NOT glad for HOW it happened (sandusky & his victims), nobody is. But I AM glad that PSU was knocked down a peg (and will soon be knocked down a few more…).

Next time I see SP, I’ll start working on him to bring back the Script unis, at least on occasion, like ND wears the greens!

marcus– you’re entitled to your opinions and i respect them. yes, the nitters did us wrong, but we did play a bit of a role in the way it turned out. i.e. not accepting them in the big east when available.

nevertheless, state penn has historically been out rival. the smash talking had simmered for years and is now, already, taking off with years to go before the next game.

i respect the wvu rivalry, too. it’s just not the same. i hear that we’re doing to them what was done to us, but i don’t hear luck lamenting the lost rivalry either. maybe both schools are disinterested.

Marcus,
The best of any reason was given to you for not playing WV, it is the “wild whites”. When a college football fan can’t make the road trip to see their team play due to crowd violence then you don’t need to play them. It happens in Morganhole far too often that visiting fans are physically abused and they are 10 times worst in their treatment of Pitt fans. I go all over the country to watch Pitt play and I live less than an hour from Morganhole and fear for my safety, and my vehicle’s safety. I experinced not once but twice in Morganhole , never again.
If the series means so much to WVU then they can come to Pittsburgh every year.

One thing that might’ve helped this happen is Rutgers move to the big 10. RU and PSU had a two game series in 17 and 18 and that moves to a conference game now. I’m happy with the games.. As someone who was 15 and just started watching Pitt around the 12-0 game in 2000, I didn’t get to really experience this. I’m pumped!

I’m with Marcus. We may not be able to schedule WVU every year in FB, but we need to get them on the schedule when we can. Its still a grudge match, I still hate them, and would rather schedule them than teams like Iowa. In BB, Pitt, PSU, WVU, and Temple should be regulars on each others non-cons. Our BB non-con this year is a joke.

We’re going to lose an actual hated rival in WVU for PSU, a school that couldn’t care less about playing Pitt and a school that I have never seen Pitt play in football in the decade that I’ve been a fan. I’m supposed to be excited about this?

HbgFrank I agree with you that Pitt should play WVU annually in basketball, but I agree with Spindler and others who have stated that Pitt should not play WVU in football anymore. I don’t think the Pitt administration is interested in continuing the football series either.

Look, Pitt and Sad Valley should be celebrated. WVU and Pitt needs to stay on the shelf and here’s why. College sports is pure business. WVU has their closest conference foe 750 miles away. That is a tough sell to recruits and next year, they will have a huge talent fall-off and the record should be about .500. They have lost momentum and it may be years before they get it back. Pitt needs to take advantage of that. It is not good business to have Pitt’s out of conference schedule have, psu,wvu and nd. It is all about wins. We need 2 little sister of the poor wins each year. That is just smart. Look at Alabama, they play 2-3 cupcakes each year because it is smart.

Isolating WVU eliminates a lot of wpial recruits because there are no road trips that parents can get to easily. A couple of 6-6 years at WVU and that program is in trouble. If they are smart, they beg to join the ACC for program survival.

Coach had the Nitter boys on the BB schedule for years, they (as in Nitters) wanted no more of the ass whippings. So they replaced Pitt with Stony Brook. Or was it Sacred Heart. Nitters still lost to them too !

Playing chauffeur today for wife and kids. Just heard Pederson on the Pompeani show. Has talked with Luck, are looking to get the WV game on the schedule once they find out when they will be playing Notre Dame – when Notre Dame is not on the schedule, will look to fill in with WVU. Didn’t get to hear the entire interview – believe they were about to address the basketball side when I had to leave.

By the way, my nephew allready admitted they’ll have to play “nice, nice” in the parking lot at tailgates.

“I know you guys have all the ammunition for comebacks to any remarks. I’m drinking my beer and keeping a low profile”!!! LOL
Comment by Dan 12.08.12 @ 11:47 am

They (well most of them) never to this day think that anything was wrong up at Creepy Valley. And that Joepa was done a disservice, blah blah blah.
Most of them were wild that the BOT did what they did. Obviously Zombie Nation is quite delusional.

By 2016, that will all be long forgotten by them,
it will be up to us to keep the fires fanned (or the showers running), so to speak.

Benzene just checked out the comments regarding Pitt on the black shoes diary blog. You think with what has transpired there over the last year would have given them a little dose of humility. Can’t wait for this series to get started!

Also, is this another instance where we need to blame SP and nordy for being incompetent…?? You know, the whole changing to another conference which isn’t falling apart, putting in rivalry games which every Pitt fan wants and will fill the stadium with absolute ease?

Here’s hoping that Tino goes out with a bang and plays the best game of his career. Wouldn’t erase all his past mistakes, but I think we would be able to look back and say Tino actually had a decent year.

I’ve driven past their campus in Jacksonville, it’s a really fast growing school that hasn’t been around long. Not much of a hoops team yet.

They are 3-5 and play in the Atlantic Sun Conf.
They did play Florida State tough losing by only 8 points and have played a tougher schedule than us. Also losing to #17 Memphis by 15 and #21 Minnesota by 28. Also lost to K State.

The victories have been against Florida A & M,
Bethune-Cookman and something called Edward Waters. I’m assuming that’s a college or something, sort of like Wvu. Except more classy.

The Ospreys are led by a stickfigure of a guard named Parker Smith (6-3, 155 lbs) 17ppg
Tallest player is 6-8. Adams should be able to grab some bounds and score a few points one would think.

The two teams last met in 2010, with Pitt winning,
95-49. So some guys(Aron Nwankwo, Mike Lecak) might play tonite, who don’t normally get in. Let’s hope, cause that’s always fun !

Reply to Chris’s “We’re going to lose an actual hated rival in WVU for PSU, a school that couldn’t care less about playing Pitt…”

After we beat them, they’ll care. Heck they care now, just watch their faces when you remind them we won the last game agaisnt them and that was 12 years ago (16 years ago by the time we play next).

I can’t speak for you, but I don’t hate WVU. And I won’t after 12 years absence either. Yes they hate us, especially after 13-9.

On the other hand, I despise PUS with every fiber of my being DESPITE it being 12 years since we last played.

Trust me, after we play the nits or peds or whatever you wanna call them 2-3 times, you’ll understand. Especially if we win, because they’ve always been such sore losers.

I live in Colorado, and I’ll buy season tix the years we play PSU at home just to have seats for that game. Even tho it’ll also mean having to buy airline tickets. If they announced instead the WVU series was resuming, my reaction would be just to make sure I record the game if I wasn’t gonna be home. Not even close to the same thing.

I can’t wait!! You’re in for such a treat, I just hope we whip them to get things off to a good start….

How fantastic would it be if PSU and ND fill out the 16 team ACC. Then we keep WVU as our opening game each year… or a final weekend game like many other ACC teams do with non conf rivalries like FSU – Florida, Clemson – SC and GA Tech – Georgia.

An ideal, dream 12 game schedule would be:

WVU
Arizona State
MAC team like Buffalo or Eastern Michigan
Lightweight Big East opponent like Tulane or Memphis or Temple

Guys, In a perfect world Pitt would be playing Penn State, West Virginia, Syracuse and Boston College like the did before all the conference re-alignments. Unfortunately with conference schedules there often isn’t room to play them all. Joe PA ended the Pitt-Penn State series because because he held a grudge when Pitt joined the Big East.

Ok guys. If Pitt went script with the new colors as the standard and the Pitt gold circa 1975 on select occasions would that work?
As for me. I like both.
Now on the hardwood, Pitt wore a throwback jersey in dark blue with PITT written as it is here.
Pitt is a brand. Pittsburgh is a city.

Don’t F with the brand anymore. At all times, without exception, the name is PITT.

I don’t think this is trading in WVU for PSU and it isn’t Pitt doing to WVU what Penn State did to Pitt in ’92. WVU isn’t exactly engaging Pitt on renewing the Brawl either. The non-con schedules are tight. It’s the reality of having every team in a different conference.
I imagine we’ll play WVU again next decade. It just probably won’t be more than 2-4 times per decade, sort of like what happens with Miami and Florida.

Dan, we gotta start a new club now that Tino is graduating. Will call it the “Pedo Pitt”, where Pitt fans come to share their newly composed jokes about the nitters, pedos, penn staters, creepers, whatever new label our creative minds can come up with those arrogant bastards.

Here’s my initial contribution to the cause,,,, Of course they’re know as “linebacker u” those guys have been drilled in deep penetration since they’ve been old enough to pull their pants down.

That is soooo bad,,,,,,it’s good! and almost four years to come up with so much more,LOL!

Reading Marcus’ post earlier about what SP said on the radio today – makes sense. I haven’t had the impression that Pitt is black-balling WVU, rather that they wanted to wait until the new conference schedule is settled to commit. I’m all for playing both PSU and the Hoopies, just saying the rivalry with State Penn is superior – in FOOTBALL. Basketball is/was WVU. Of course there will be potential new ACC rivals. but hopefully we can get WVU back on the schedule every year in hoops.

dhuffdaddy,
You make a good point on WV and future recruiting problems with WPIAL players since closet conf. opponent is 800 miles away. But you also should consider that WV is in a whole lot of hurt recruiting wise since they went to the B12 because there are no Fl schools in B12. No games in Fl translates no recruits from Fl. Currently there more than 30 Fl players on WV roster.
As to scheduling non-con in Fl ,it won’t be easy for WV because they ticked Fl St when they canceled their game this season, So Fl won’t schedule them for leaving the BE, Gators would crush them, only remote chance is Miami but I’m sure they can be convinced not to schedule WV.
WV future recruiting is in a whole lot of hurting.

PITT 12 – psu 0 @ Three Rivers left a bitter taste in my mouth but thirsting for more!

Within the first 5 minutes of sitting in our seats that day a shit-talkin-asshole psu fan infront of us had punched my buddy in the jaw and a duchebag psu guy behind is had punched him in the back of the head!

I have no problem playing West Virginia on the years that Pitt doesn’t play Notre Dame. However, if I have pick between Penn State or West Virginia, it’s Penn State. One other thing to consider, Virginia Tech looks at Pitt as a rival, from former days in the Big East. The Pitt-Va Tech game will no doubt rekindle in the ACC.

I hate PSU with all my heart even though I’m only 28. I’m still pissed about Lavar Arrington blocking Nick Lotz’s last second field goal when I was in fifth grade.

I still revel in the glory of twelve to nothing and watched the game rather than making out with a hot chick, the only one interested in my loser tenth grade ass.

And most importantly, I was engaged to a Nitter and we hated our respective schools so much, it prevented our future wedding from ever happening because PSU people are ARROGANT asses that actually believe they went to an IVY League School.

My favorite day of work this year was when my poor suffering buddy from lowly Ohio U got to talk shit on the loud mouth Pedos.

Can anyone remember the pregame shenanigans between pitt and state. I remember one time our fans stopped the PSU buses at the foot of cardiac hill and made JoePa and his team walk up the hill before the game. I remember another time at State their fans beat up a number of our band members and sent them to hospitals. Paterno was masterful creating distractions before the games. Who can recall for us what some of them were. Thanks

Barrelman, You’re right. Joe PA always had some issue with Pitt before every game they played. I remember when he made a big deal over the seats Pitt gave his wife. Yes, Joe PA complained publicly to the media, over his wife’s seating. I also remember during Foge Fasio’s worst season, the Panthers blew them out 33 to 6 or something like that and Joe Paterno was yelling at his players and calling them a bunch of sissies.

Doesn’t look like there is any interest on Dixon’s part to play WVU. Pederson will talk about it but do little. From a business and competitive standpoint, it’s best to put WVU in the past. Let their fans latch on to Texas Tech and Kansas or just feel the remorse of isolation. Good riddance to the low class ‘eers.